370 ASTONISHMENT FOR THE MILLION. 



sweat had prepared him. His training, short as it 

 is, must be begun again to bring him up to his mark, 

 and put him in his best form : the walking exercise, 

 canter, gallops, and, probably, a sweat, will have to 

 take place prior to his next day's hunting : without 

 all this the horse would be quite fresh again, and, 

 without a gallop, fit to go with some hounds, in some 

 countries, and under some people, but not under our 

 first flight men over Leicestershire. 



Persons but little acquainted with hunting matters, 

 or those who only look to what hunting WAS, may, 

 very naturally, ask how a man can possibly use from 

 twelve to fifteen hunters for his own riding : no 

 doubt it seems a pretty strong stud for one man, and 

 the argument seems all in favour of those thinking 

 one third of the number would carry a man five days 

 a week. I am afraid I must, in candour, say (though 

 I tremble for my credit while I do say it) no man 

 can use half the number, but, by abusing them, he 

 may quite render the whole number necessary. By 

 abusing I do not, of course, mean what comes under 

 the general denomination of ill-usage, but, if men 

 will have horses go over a country at a racing in- 

 stead of a hunting pace, and will take that out of 

 them in forty minutes that used to last them an 

 entire day, he must either go home or have a second 

 horse to finish with. Here then comes double the 

 number formerly wanted, and as supernatural exer- 

 tion would require supernatural legs and stamina to 

 stand it, and horses have neither, some out of the 

 fifteen are always pro tern, out of work; so, what with 

 having two horses a-day in use, horses not being able 

 to be brought up to their mark under several days' 

 training, the sick list, and, perhaps, occasionally 



